Those wishing to combine Champagne culture and architectural history will find several clearly distinct themes in Épernay. Avenue de Champagne has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2015. Around 200 million bottles are stored beneath it in chalk cellars and galleries. This approximate figure makes the cellar landscape a distinctive part of Épernay’s Champagne history.
Champagne Culture and Its Different Perspectives
The Musée du vin de Champagne et d’Archéologie régionale is located on the avenue. It tells the story of the Champagne region, from its geological formation to the present day. This broad time span distinguishes the museum from the individual buildings, whose histories can be traced through specific construction and heritage dates. The Maison de Castellane offers a different perspective: visitors can enjoy a Champagne tasting and a panoramic view of the surrounding vineyards. The Maison is housed in a building listed as a historic monument and featuring a 66-metre-high tower. Unlike the museum’s historical overview, the focus here is on tasting and views of the vineyards.
Buildings, Dates and Distinctions
Épernay’s architectural history can also be understood through different points in time. Château Perrier is a 19th-century building and has been classified as a historic monument since 2013. Portail Saint-Martin is an important Renaissance work; in 1840, it was included in France’s first list of historic monuments. Théâtre Gabrielle-Dorziat was built in 1898 in the style of Louis XV and is listed as a historic monument. These dates refer to different things: 1840 marks the Portail’s inclusion on the list, 1898 is the theatre’s year of construction, and 2013 is when Château Perrier was classified. Construction dates and heritage designation dates are therefore not the same.
The park of the Hôtel de Ville complements the buildings with a garden. It is classified as a “Jardin remarquable” (Remarkable Garden). These designations refer to different kinds of heritage: the avenue as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, individual historic monuments, and a park classified as remarkable.
Planning Around the City and Landscape
Mont Bernon, classified as a natural monument, lies near Épernay. Footpaths lead to wooden viewpoints. The panorama takes in the wine-growing area with its historic slopes, the Côte des Blancs, Épernay city centre and the Châlons plain. The view brings together the cityscape, vineyard landscape and the wider plain.
When looking for a hotel in Épernay, it may help to decide first what you would like to focus on: cultural history and architecture, or the nearby landscape around Mont Bernon. Avenue de Champagne can be explored on foot or by bicycle; at Mont Bernon, footpaths lead to wooden viewpoints. The options therefore differ both in subject and in the way they can be explored.
Discover more destinations: Chavot-Courcourt, Montgenost, Verzy, Cuis, Beaumont-Sur-Vesle, Bignicourt-sur-Marne, Janvry, Matougues.
For the main travel overview: Marne.
